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I’ll be playing English county cricket, this will help India in Tests: Pujara22 Feb 2018 | 2:00 AM

NEW DELHI:Cheteshwar Pujara, the foremost Test batting specialist among the current generation of Indian players, will be starting his “homework“ for India’s tour of England in April even as the rest of his teammates will crisscross the country playing the cash-rich IPL.

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New Delhi, February 21

Cheteshwar Pujara, the foremost Test batting specialist among the current generation of Indian players, will be starting his “homework“ for India’s tour of England in April even as the rest of his teammates will crisscross the country playing the cash-rich IPL.

Pujara will be turning out for English county heavyweights Yorkshire in Division 1. Pujara believes that his county stint would help him prepare for India’s five-match Test series against England, to be played in August-September.

“I am looking forward to the county season as we will be playing Test matches in August,“ Pujara said. “I was with Yorkshire in 2015 when we won the County Championship. It’s a fantastic team with a good bunch of professionals, which helps me become a better cricketer.“

Pujara said that from the Indian team’s perspective, the most beneficial aspect of his Yorkshire stint would be that he would be batting at venues on which India would play Tests. This would give him an idea about the pitches and conditions.

“Look, playing at Headingley (Leeds) in early English summer with temperatures around 4-6°C will test any batsman’s technique and temperament,“ Pujara said. “Even scoring a 50 is tough. By the time India’s tour starts, it will be a bit more pleasant.“

“Now, playing Division 1 has its advantages. I will be playing against Middlesex (Lord’s in London), Warwickshire (Birmingham) and Surrey (Oval in London) in away games, where India will play Test matches. So I will get a fair idea about the pitches and conditions,“ Pujara explained.

Same basics

For Pujara, there is not much to change technique-wise if the tour of South Africa is compared with the tour of England.

“The basics will remain the same but the primary criteria of doing well is respecting the conditions,“ he said. “Technically, it’s more or less same.“

“I use lighter bats when playing overseas. Also, the kind of fight we put up in South Africa augurs well for us in England. Maybe we could have batted a bit better (in South Africa) but we were in with a chance in all games,“ said Pujara.

Tough for tourists

The 30-year-old, who has played 57 matches in the longest format, agreed that none of the top Test teams is travelling well. “England’s performance in the Ashes will tell you that all top teams are struggling a fair bit in overseas conditions,“ Pujara said.

As the discussion veered towards playing spinners, Pujara agreed that the Indian team will be well-equipped to play Moeen Ali, who had tormented them when India toured England in 2014, taking 19 wickets.

“Obviously, we will be better prepared but that doesn’t mean we can take Moeen or any other English bowler lightly. The best part is we have a fair idea about their core bowling unit,“ said Pujara.

Wristy variation

Talking about the South African batsmen not reading the bowling of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav during the recent ODI series, Pujara said: “It will be difficult if you can’t pick up the variation from wrists. If you can’t differentiate Chahal’s googly from his flippers, then there’s trouble. You have to have an understanding which way the ball would turn.“

No IPL deal

Pujara has not got an IPL deal during the past few seasons and he admits that it has got a lot to do with “public perceptions“.

“Perception, I would say, has played a major role,“ Pujara said. “If you check my performance in List A (average of 58 plus over 88 games) and T20s (strike rate of 105.18 in 58 games), I still have a lot to offer in shorter formats. I am not at all worried as I know my opportunity would come at some point of time.“

Would county stint have helped others too?

Chandigarh: Cheteshwar Pujara says that playing in the English county cricket would help him prepare for the Test series against England. It also means that if the other India batsmen/bowlers were playing in the English county cricket, they would be better prepared to take on England in the five-Test series later this year. Also, if Pujara had been picked up by an IPL team, he would not have had the opportunity to prepare better to represent the country. This is the club-country conflict — playing T20 cricket for a club is helpful (monetarily) for a player, but it is not in the interests of the national Test team. Pujara has hoped that he would get a chance to play in the IPL in the future. In the opportunities that he’s got to play in the IPL, he did not impress the team management enough. — PTI

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